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A Douglas bar owner is facing charges for failing to pay city sales taxes.
Patrick M. Peterson, 55, the owner of PP’s Douglas Inn located at 915 Third Street in Douglas, is charged with 16 misdemeanor counts of violating the City and Borough of Juneau’s uniform sales tax code.
According to charging documents, Peterson failed to file a CBJ Sales Tax Return and remit the sales tax for periods in 2009 through 2011.
An affidavit filed by Assistant City Attorney August Petropulos states Peterson, and his corporation Peterson Pacific Holdings Inc., were given notice twice that Peterson had sales tax due.
Peterson was informed in May 2011 that he owed the city a total of about $20,937 in unremitted sales tax, penalties and interest for parts of 2009, 2010 and 2011. Notice was given in January 2012 that he owed a total of $13,933 for June, September and December of 2011, according to the affidavit.
The affidavit states Peterson failed to respond.
CBJ is seeking about $42,084 in restitution, the affidavit states. That includes the unremitted sales tax, penalties and interest.
Court records indicate a jury trial slated to begin earlier this month was vacated in lieu of a ‘change of plea’ hearing. That hearing is slated to take place in Juneau District Court before Judge Keith Levy on Oct. 5.
Peterson is represented by attorney John A. Leque. Peterson did not return phone calls seeking comment Friday.
Another business owner was charged and convicted of the same offense earlier this year. Larry Lee Lynd, owner of the Woolly Mammoth Gifts and Sourdough Larry’s, pleaded guilty to some of the charges against him and was ordered by the court in April to pay nearly $192,000 in unremitted sales tax.
The City and Borough of Juneau announced in an advertisement in the Empire on Friday that it is actively pursuing the collection of city sales taxes owed from all business owners in Juneau.
The newspaper ad listed all the businesses that are delinquent in filing and/or remitting of the tax, as of Sept. 12 of this year.
According to the report, 47 active businesses in Juneau owe a total of about $244,967 in sales taxes. The business that owed the most, according to the report, was Gold in Quartz, which owed $34,705.24.
Nine businesses that have closed their accounts with CBJ but still owe sales tax, owe a total of $52,920, the report states.
About 90 businesses failed to respond to requests to file sales tax returns, which is required under the CBJ sales tax ordinance.
The vast majority of businesses in the borough pay their city sales tax, which is collected by merchants in the normal course of business to be held in trust for CBJ.
Joan Roomsburg, the city sales tax administrator and signee of the advertisement, wrote in the ad that the businesses listed only represented a small minority of merchants in the borough. The amount of delinquent tax listed represents less than 0.08 percent of CBJ’s annual sales tax collections, the report says.
• Contact reporter Emily Russo Miller at 523-2263 or at emily.miller@juneauempire.com.
Comments (73)
Add commentHuh?
"Peterson was informed in May 2011 that he owed the city a total of about $20,937 in unremitted sales tax, penalties and interest for parts of 2009, 2010 and 2011."
How is it he's still in business and it's almost 2013??
Yank his business license and proceed with a civil suit. Put a lien on his property. Their customers paid the sales tax - it's not theirs to keep. Dirtbags that pull this are cheating all of us.
And thanks, Empire. Please post a complete listing of the delinquents, and provide regular updates, so we know which businesses to blacklist.
Great Job CBJ!!! These guys
Great Job CBJ!!! These guys are collecting the money from us that supports the local goverment and pocketing it for their own.
Keep publishing that list, I avoid shops that are grossly behind.
I wonder how much he actually
I wonder how much he actually owes and how much is " penalties and interest"?
Just wait...
...until taxes kill all small business. 2 or 3 grand per full time employee sounds about right. That being said... sales tax is painfully obvious to pay. Stupidity.
It is about time
The good news with this case is that a bar license does have a dollar value that can be sold, and, if Petersen owns the building, the CBJ can put a lien on the property for this theft of public funds.
The CBJ needs to quit pussyfooting around with these jerks that steal our money and maybe they will. Make an example out of the bad guys and stop rewarding criminal behavior!
Ms.Miller, it would be nice to know if the CBJ has been paid by Larry Lynd? I have heard some of these deadbeats simply leave town or come back under another corporate business and steal all over again.
I as well try to not patronize any business that is publicized for stealing sales tax dollars.
It doesn't come out of his pocket
@bartender this shouldn't kill PP's business, at least not if he pays in a timely manner, because the sales tax comes out of his patron's pockets, not his till. In fact, by filing on time he actually gets a rebate from CBJ for doing so! Of course, the penalties and interest from from his profits, but that is the cost of failing to properly conduct business.
I am a small business owner and hold a CBJ sales tax license, so I speak from actual experience.
tax
My tax was double this year on my house and still paid my bill
I'll make it a point to start
I'll make it a point to start frequenting the Douglas Inn when I'm in Douglas and I need to take a leak.
"Full on shaft"??
The guy has skated for nearly 4 years! Try not paying the IRS for 4 years and see what happens.
He didn't get any "shaft". He stole money that didn't belong to him.
Let's all cry a river of
Let's all cry a river of tears for poor Pat. I can picture Pat sitting around with his buddies laughing it up about how he's not going to pay sales tax.
He's not facing any financial hardships unless he's a totally retarded businessman. Owning a bar in Juneau is basically a license to print money.
I hope the city will tighten the screws on him to the point that it burns when he pees.
Before the tar is heated and feathers applied to Douglas'
historic PP Douglas Inn allow me to interject.
As with any business the employee behind the counter was probably the last to know the owner's business decision was putting his/her job security in jeopardy.
The local neighborly patron was probably not brought into the 'inner circle' of management's dubious practices (would you brag to your neighbor over the fence line how you were pulling one over on the IRS?)
I applaud the CBJ for not shutting down a going concern with the probable consequences of hurting so many, from employees to suppliers to patrons (though it certainly has every right to do so) but rather seek other less grievous legal avenues.
Please do not boycott this fine establishment.
Let due process prevail.
If Pat owes 42,000 in taxes,
If Pat owes 42,000 in taxes, it means that he had sales of 840,000 during that time. Sorry, it doesn't take that much to run a sleazy bar in Douglas, Alaska. He would be able to eat steak three times a week even if he had of paid his taxes.
Sleazy bar? Sounds to me like sour grapes.
***
Fume, it's even worse...
Thats "reportable" sales... Anyone in the liquor business will tell you "wink, wink" that a large percentage of cash sales goes tax free right in the back pockets, never to be reported to the government.
Duplicate
Duplicate
@alwilkens
You misunderstand my short, vague post. I know how sales tax works. Thanks for the condescending tone though.
Speaking of penalties...
I'm sure every "small business owner and CBJ sales tax license holder" understands how our new federal healthcare system works and the taxes that my post refer to. I plainly said that this business owner had a major case of "stupidity." I don't agree with his/her practices, 5% is a very easy number to understand.
Cheating us all
Great example of a local business concern cheating the CBJ and the people who call it home. There are certain responsibilities that must be met by those in business and one of those is paying the sales tax required and on time. There are no excuses for this sort of sloppy or "in your face" business practice. Cannot understand how people rationalize the non payment of, or fraudulent reporting of their sales tax. This guy would likely never shop lift or burglarize someones home, but is quite comfortable stealing from the rest of us in this particular instance. He is way behind, shut him down until the time he has made full restitution for tax owed plus any applicable fines and penalties. This will hopefully send a message to those that are contemplating doing the same thing. The typical CBJ "wrist slap" just isn't cutting it folks.
Whats the goal here?
After reading all the posts prior to this one it is quite clear that some here would love to see the bar owner suffer to the fullest extent of the law, the bar close, the employees lose their jobs and an example be made for all to see. Ok, you folks stay focused on that.
The rest of you consider this, negotiate a deal with the bar owner something like this:
1) File monthly sales tax returns and pay monthly until condition 2 is satisfied,
2) Agree to a repayment plan for back taxes to be paid monthly until paid if full,
3) The City files a Consent of Judgement with the court to be released upon payment in full.
The goal here is to collect the past taxes, penalties and interest, so, set up the mechanism to do so.
Keep the business in operation to both collect the past due taxes and the current taxes due. This makes sense to me. Everybody wins. We get our past taxes, we get taxes from current business, the community has the bar and the employees keep their jobs. Oh, and the owner keeps the bar.
Can anyone really argue with this solution?
AKJustice, thank you. Your
AKJustice, thank you. Your comment is the best thing I have read in the paper all day.
A quick check of public court
A quick check of public court records indicates this isn't this dude's first rodeo.
2003 he had 8 charges of failure to pay sales tax (plus probation violations) to the tune of $13,000.
No sympathy here. Shut him down and throw him in jail. He's stealing from the citizens of Juneau.
Ken, Whatever...you sure
Ken,
Whatever...you sure can't call it an upscale bar. Further, I don't and never have envied the likes of Pat Peterson.
He knows he was wrong
This owner knew he hadn't paid his sales tax. There's no extenuating circumstances or disputes. So why does he get to play a silly game and keep his business open? We are talking about a small local bar so I'm sure the three to four good, reliable employees can find other suitable work. Lots of good bartender positions in Juneau! I simply can't abide someone that wants to cheat on their taxes.
Besides...Hubby and I visited this bar one night and never felt so unwelcome...Kinda felt as cliquish as some fraternal lodges or low budge private clubs. I say pay up or close him down...and since when is a bar a community asset?
Me too
It's been a long long time since I went to Peterson's bar. Last time I did, everyone looked at me like I had two heads. I felt very unwelcome. Perhaps they thought I was a "revenuer".
Oh, and it's not 5%. That's just regular sales tax. There's an additional 3% alcohol tax, so he's screwing the City for 8% by stealing it from his customers.
I'm glad that's not my money in Peterson's pocket, and it never will be.
@ Yukon: Please explain Galligaskins city tax forgiveness
@ Yukonjack
Could you please explain the "Galligaskins" tax to the city being forgiven? I heard about the incident in the past but was unable to find any information on it.
What's the goal II, let's put the shoe on the other foot
So, after some great rest, I have realized and come to agree with the group that wants the business owner's head, so long as the following also was to happen.
As it seems the City has had this same problem with this same business owner once before, it occurs to me that the City employees handling sale tax business also bare some responsibility here and should also be held to the same standard some of you here wish to wield on Pat Peterson(PP).
Let's start with:
1) Termination of City workers for failing to monitor PP and nail him in the first quarter,
2) Those same City employees should return a percentage of their income for the period that this infraction has gone on; Lets say 3% for each case older than one year, as they too have failed us in collecting our money,
3) These same employees should be barred from future government employment for, let's say, ten years or so.
There now, that about sums it up!
Anybody got a problem with that?
Ahhhh the infamous Galligaskins forgiveness!
Perhaps because that business was owned by the wife of the former city manager? It couldn't possibly be an example of who you know....or who you.....? Could it?
Do not go there
I agree with AK justice that setting this up would give the City a chance to recover the monies.
However, for the other 40-some businesses that have not reached this stage, we should list the business in the paper that do not pay their taxes on the front page; right away not after they have been warned for the past 4 years. And our community should stick together and not go to those businesses. Maybe they would get the hint set up a payment plan on their own, we post in the paper that they are making payments and we, the community, frequent their establishment as per the norm to show our appreciation that they are once again not making the community pay their bills for them.
I am in disagreement with those blaming the CBJ, but hear me out. Have you ever worked, or owned, a business and tried to collect on a bill from a customer? If yes, did you blame yourself when they still didn't pay? or did you cuss them under your breath? When bad debt gets too far out you turn to the lawyers to recover as much as possible; however, legal battles are not cheap and are likely the reason the amount had to get to a certain level to take action. We cannot step over a dollar to pick up a dime, as it were.
There you go, Paul
I like how you think.
I'm with Mikey
Too, that place just hasn't been the same since the ownership changed.
I miss Louie's, and the friendly welcoming atmosphere it had.
We probably wouldn't be commenting on this article either.